It is expected to draw more than 100,000 people to downtown Stockton, and organizers hope to distribute $500,000 this year to local nonprofit groups that contribute volunteer work hours, said Doug Wilhoit, chief executive officer of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce. Wilhoit also helps organize the event.

Among those assisting with festival setup were volunteers who receive services at Last Chance, a transitional house for recovering drug and alcohol addicts.

"We're trying to get our lives back together. The work we do helps us give back from what we've taken," said 37-year-old Steve Trotter, a crew foreman with Last Chance.

Trotter's crew of four men loaded six pieces of a stage for the Great Spear-It Run onto a cart.

It took four men to pick up each platform. "It's not heavy," said crew member Paul Huck, 18. "It's just awkward."

Trotter's crew of 42 volunteers worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. They'll do it every day through Friday and begin the cleanup when the festival ends Sunday night.

For Huck, laboring for the festival is a way to show appreciation, he said, because Last Chance will benefit from the festival's fundraising.

"I believe that gratitude is in your actions," Huck said.

Another crew member, Antonio Lucadero, said he had a sense of pride in being part of the city's largest festival.

"It's a big deal, because it represents Stockton," said Lucadero, 25. "We only have it once a year."

Co-founder Gordon Medlin, 86, took a tour Tuesday afternoon of the fenced area being transformed into one of the largest food festivals in California.